Why is a bobby pin called a bobby pin?

Answer 1

Answer

The "bobby pin" came into wide use as the hairstyle known as the "bob cut" or "bobbed hair" took hold. This trend gained popularity in the 1920s, and the bobby pins kept the bobbed hair in place.

(from wikipedia)

Also from Wikipedia - "A trademark on the term "bobby pin" was held for some decades by Bob Lépine Corporation of Buffalo, New York." So it is the original name the pin was marketed under, probably based on the name of the corporation and/or the person the company is named after.

Similarly, the British term "kirby grip" is derived from the trademark Kirbigrip, used by a Birmingham (UK) manufacturer of such pins, Kirby, Beard & Co. Ltd.[1]